FIRES DAMAGE BUILDING, HOME

Two fires damaged a downtown Salt Lake office building and a West Valley home Friday night, and one man was hospitalized for apparent smoke inhalation.

About 15 people were in the Valley Bank, 185 S. State, when the fire broke out at 7:55 p.m., sending smoke through the building."I was sitting in my office and there was this explosion," said Joan Oviatt, a night worker in the library of the law firm that occupies the building's top floors. Witnesses reported lights flickering and an electrical-fire smell as far down as the third floor.

Firefighters had the fire quickly under control, said Battalion Chief Gordon Nicholl. "They got the electrical down and the fire went out," said Nicholl.

While firefighters worked to ventilate heavy smoke from the top floors, building occupants worried about damage to computer systems from the power surges and outage.

Most of the fire damage was limited to the ceiling of the 13th floor, said Nicholl. No one was injured.

In West Valley, Teresa Huber, 29, was talking on the phone when her television quit operating about 10 p.m. She sent her son to check the circuit breaker. He opened the door into the garage and saw the garage filled with smoke, she said.

Huber's husband, William, 30, fought the fire, which spread smoke over several blocks near Valley Fair Mall, until the West Valley Fire Department responded. He was taken to Pioneer Valley Hospital, where he was treated and was expected to be released Friday night, a hospital spokesman said.

The garage was used for storage space and was filled with many of the Christmas gifts for the Hubers' four children.

West Valley Battalion Chief Stan Varney said the fire was mostly limited to the garage, but there was also damage to the house's rafters. No estimate of damage was given.